How un-safe is WIFI if not used properly !?!

[snowmonkey]

Hi all..

Happy easter to all of you, hope your easter egg hunt went well.... I know mine did, that's why I'm here to share it with you.

I decided to spend the easter Sunday at my in-laws and I brought my Laptop with me too(incase), I have a wireless card in and I thought what the hell, let me sniff around for a wireless network connection since my in-laws don't have Internet (old foks)....Jee what a pleasant surprised, I scanned and got 4 wireless AP, two are increpted and the other two are WIDE OPEN...It's not just me using their band width,,, I could connect to their Printer and see all their shared folder... Hell if I want I could delete stuff from their computer....but since it is a EASTER SUNDAY I wouldn't do that.....

The reason am posting this for you to read is that If you have a wireless Access Point or Wireless router you HAVE to secure it, you never know when I would drop by your neighborhood or worst, someone with bad intension ...

Do your home work before installing a wireless router or get someone who knows these stuff to help you out.

Cheers

[s7p9a2m4]

It is nice of you to warn people snowmonkey but I find these unprotected networks very handy when travelling. Not for nefarious purposes. Only to check email and pc to pc phone.

Happy Easter!

[canerdem]

Hi,
As far as I know WIFI is encrypted bu who knows? Someone might have decrypted it... However I wouldnt this should be a problem unless you are a definete target. But usually ordinary people dont have much to worry about. I understood this after messing with secure emailing for myself!!!

[snowmonkey]

Originally Posted by canerdem

Hi,
As far as I know WIFI is encrypted bu who knows? Someone might have decrypted it

That shows that you don't know much..... Do you even know when a WEP encroption means ? and how you achive that ? and how hard it is to decypt it?

Originally Posted by canerdem

... However I wouldnt this should be a problem unless you are a definete target. But usually ordinary people dont have much to worry about.

This is exactly the reason I have posted this messege, every one think why could they be the target ? YOU ARE NOT THE TARGET... but if someone stumbles up on your network then they wouldn't stop there.... so it's better not to leave that door open for an opportunistic person.

Originally Posted by canerdem

I understood this after messing with secure emailing for myself!!!

Please tell us about your experiance.... personally I really want to know your findings about encryption and fall out that followed...


Cheers

[canerdem]

Originally Posted by snowmonkey

That shows that you don't know much..... Do you even know when a WEP encroption means ? and how you achive that ? and how hard it is to decypt it?

I don't know the technical details of the encyription. I just know that there is a default encription with WIFI.

Originally Posted by snowmonkey

This is exactly the reason I have posted this messege, every one think why could they be the target ? YOU ARE NOT THE TARGET... but if someone stumbles up on your network then they wouldn't stop there.... so it's better not to leave that door open for an opportunistic person.

I think you are overreacting. The default encription is suffient for many people... UNLESS YOU ARE A TARGET

Originally Posted by snowmonkey

Please tell us about your experiance.... personally I really want to know your findings about encryption and fall out that followed...

I wanted to inrease my security by using secure POP3. And at the end I wished I was never born! Ordinary people like me have to be more relaxed to preserve their healthy mind and sprit.
But I still credit you in announcing such a warning.
Bye.

[snowmonkey]

My appology, I think I may have over re-act.


Cheers

[Tippy]

SnowMonkey,

What tool did you use to scan the wireless networks? I don't think that you over reacted. Security is a big problem.

[snowmonkey]

NetStumbler 0.4

http://www.stumbler.net

I don't know why it doesn't work with 3Com Wl-305 but it works great with Intel, Linksys, Cisco......

Cheers

[Tippy]

Thanks For the Info SnowMonkey

[craven8616]

Hello, I hope this is the right way to go about asking for the information I need.
Snowmonkey, you seem to know a lot about wireless networking and I have a few questions I can not seem to get straight answers to and really hope you can help.
I was in Iraq for a while, now I am back and trying to get up to speed with my computer again. I have a desktop that I bought a few years ago with Windows 2000 Pro and just bought a Dell laptop with Windows XP Pro. The laptop has a wireless lan built in, the desktop only has a built in 10/100 used for the DSL connection. A friend of mine gave me another 10/100 card and the two connect just fine with a crossover cable.
My question is: if I buy a wireless card for my desktop, do I need a router?
Or will it work like the crossover cable if I do not have the router?
Also your concerns about security, do you have any links or information that would help out a novice who really wants to keep his investment safe?

[snowmonkey]

Since you have wireless card in your laptop and you are planning to get a wireless card for the desktop then it would make scene to get a wireless router too... basically right now your desktop computer does the work that your router would do and that is network connection sharing.....but when you want to network two wireless device, you would need a sharing point and that would be your router... your router will have security setting that you need to configure in order to have two computer communicated securely (it's simple setup)....You will need a router

Here are few links:

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/more...lesssetup.mspx
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/...ess_secure.htm
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...1335945,00.asp
http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2...19wizards.html

Just make sure that you have some sort of security setting enabled.


Cheers